Crayon Sandpaper Shirt

Continuing with Little Man's birthday week festivities, I wanted a celebratory shirt. Statement apparel, if you will. :-)

 

Since we live in Podunk, USA, my creative craft supplies are limited. (What can I make with gorilla glue and trash bags?)

 

Have no fear, rural peeps, simple DIY alert! I found this idea from a fellow Blogger (shout out to Alpha Mom) and thought, "I can do that!"

 

With three items, this little cutie is a cinch. For any occasion, any design, I highly recommend it for your next "Let's get creative...but really, you just eat the glue" art session.

 

Happy crafting!

 

 

Let's get started!

 

 

The total cost of this project was $3.88! We had an assortment of crayons, raided Dad's sandpaper stash, and grabbed the white shirt from Wally World (you guessed it, for $3.88).

 

 

With the sheet of sandpaper ready, we began coloring our masterpiece. I chose to use fine sandpaper but use whatever you have on hand. Keep in mind, the more coarse the paper...the more texture will appear on your shirt. (PS. Crayons were absolutely...100%...harmed in the making of this shirt!)

 

Here's the final result. Look out, Van Gogh! By the way, this is an excellent use for those tiny crayon remnants you've been keeping because you "might use them one day". Today is the day!

 

 

If you are transferring a number or letter, keep in mind it will be a mirror image so be sure to draw on the opposite side of your sandpaper.  After I traced my "3", I cut it out...along with a piece of cardboard to insert inside of shirt, to prevent the color from bleeding. (I saved the remaining sandpaper art for another project...I might use it one day. Ha!)

 

Position your art on the shirt (art side down), make sure the cardboard lines up underneath.

 

Cover sandpaper with thin towel and iron for about 30 seconds on high heat (cotton setting). Make sure your steam is off.

 

 

Remove towel and peek at the design. If you are satisfied with the transfer, remove sandpaper. If you need more color, continue ironing for another 15-20 seconds.

 

TAAADDAAA,  you should now feel so crafty! Looks great!

 

To seal the transfer, place a couple of paper towels over design and iron for about 10 seconds. This will absorb any extra crayon residue. Finally, throw shirt in the dryer for about 20 minutes to set the color and be sure to wash it by itself the first time.

Well, there you have it! Adorable. Get creative and if you make one of your own, I'd love to see it so be sure to share. (Click here for a handy dandy printable.)